Memories
by xNightcatx
Summary: ONESHOT. During his 10 years at sea aboard the Flying Dutchman, Will finds himself thinking of a certain person, and it is not Elizabeth. No shipping, R&R please.


**A/N: I hope this is an improvement to my writing (though i think not) and I hope you like it. Please comment, oh please oh please I beg of you comment! I'll be grateful! This has no shipping, and I hope you DO like it :) **

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The _Flying Dutchman_ cut its way through storms to calm waters to make its way back to the endless sea of the other world. It had been nine years now, since Will had taken over the accursed task, and not a moment went by that he didn't think of Elizabeth and the day he'd be with her again. But this time, this night he didn't think of his wife, but of _her_. It surprised him such a person crossed his mind after so many years of absence. Perplexed, he stared at the darkened horizon, and thought back to that one person that stole Elizabeth's memory from him for tonight, and he searched his mind for the forgotten name and face. Not an hour passed before he could remember clearly what she looked like, and what she was called. _Amara Serlin_.

Amara Serlin was a widow of uncertain age. Will met her shortly after his arrival to Port Royal; Lieutenant James Norrington had sent him to stay with the widow until he could find someone more suitable to take care of the boy. He could remember now, her albescent hair, her skin showed no wrinkle of time passed but her almond-shaped green eyes showed wisdom, pain, and the strong wish to live. Mrs. Serlin had taken a liking to the young boy, and kept him as happy as a poor widow could. Alas, before the month was out, Will had been sent to Mr. Brown, to be his new ward and apprentice, but that didn't stop Mrs. Serlin from taking care of Will; every day she'd come by the smithy and bring him lunch, always asking what he'd want to eat the next day._"Whot you can provide is 'nough fo' me"_ he'd tell her with a full mouth. _"Cabbage and rotten tomatoes then" _she'd reply with a smile every time.

She never once brought cabbage or rotten tomatoes, but delicious simple foods and sometimes a little fancy detail that would leave little Will wondering how a poor widow like Mrs. Serlin could afford that for him. However, such thoughts were put aside the moment he would bite into his lunch; Mrs. Serlin would smile and eat her small portion slowly. He never once thought ill of Mrs. Serlin and her doting upon Will or in general, and so hearing others speak ill of her astounded him and worried him, but once he'd see her, all worries would be forgotten. In secret, he saw her like a second mother more and more. Such trust he had on her, that he confessed his love for Elizabeth Swann to her.

"She is the Governor's daughter" Mrs. Serlin had told him.

"I've always loved her, but I never realized it" he sighed.

"Does it hurt?" Her question was unexpected. "Does it hurt to know she doesn't know you love her?"

"It hurts that she can't know" Will answered sadly.

"William, it can't be love unless you voice it out" Mrs. Serlin told him kindly.

"I told you about it"

"You didn't tell her"

"I want to" he let out another sigh "but I'm not brave enough"

She smiled warmly and what she said next stuck with him longer than anything anyone else had said to him "Darling, you are braver than you think. You do not lack the bravery to tell her. You just don't love her enough to tell her without the fear of knowing she may not love you back. I'm sorry Will, but maybe one day your love for her will grow, and then it will be the time for you to realize what you feel right now is not pure love, but fondness." she stroke his hair, looking into his eyes and he perceived there was something haunting in those green orbs. "The day will come, dear, and you won't be hurting anymore"

The day had come that the town gossip regarded Mrs. Serlin as a witch. For many years, Mrs. Serlin had provided people with cures for many illnesses and for that she was respected, but when it came noticed and contemplated that she had not aged in thirty years, the town became fearful. Even Will became aware of her lack of wrinkled skin, her hair was the same white-streaked than full gray that should be. The death of a sick girl was blamed on Mrs. Serlin and her herbal remedy, and before anything else could happen, she was accused of witchcraft.

Will had been working at the smithy that afternoon, when one boy came running to find him, bearing awful news.

"Mr. Turner, Mr. Turner!" the boy gasped for breath. "Mrs. Serlin's been detained, a soldier says she's a murderer!"

Without a single word, Will left the shop, and ran to the fort, where a somber Lieutenant Norrington told him of the town speculations and the death of the girl that had been given one of Mrs. Serlin's concoctions.

"The judge had made his decision" Norrington told him "I am deeply sorry, Mr. Turner, but she's been sentenced to hang"

Will was bewildered, he had known that witches were burned alive, not hanged. Norrington had somehow known what he was thinking and he added quietly "I don't doubt she practiced witchcraft, but not I nor the Governor wish to see her burned alive. For all her good deeds, she deserves as much"

"I want to see her" Norrington stared, but nodded in consent, and asked one of the soldiers to escort him to her cell.

Once there, Will felt a knot forming in his throat, causing him to stutter his greeting, soon his heart had dropped and he fought to keep himself from crying. But she saw in his eyes the little weeping boy, and her smile became fixed and small until he could no longer look at her, letting out a sob facing the floor and eyes shut tight.

"William, don't" Her voice was familiar yet so strange to him, like if he had never heard it enough to keep it with him. "Oh, my dear boy, don't cry for me" her arms embraced him as best as she could through the cell bars.

"They can't do this to you!"

"They have" She sighed.

"You're innocent" he sobbed "You've done nothing wrong"

"It's the rule of the world, my son" She said "I pay for God's will as well as people's mistakes. Now let me see those eyes, Will"

Will raised his head and opened his eyes. Her gentle features brought the tears out.

"No darling" Mrs. Serlin dried his tears away. "Don't cry for me, those eyes don't need tears, those eyes full of love need to show mirth and love, not sorrow. I have a confession to make, Will"

"What is it?" he wrapped his fingers around her wrists, her beautiful wrists that held the scent of many herbs she handled over the years.

"I love you like a son, William. And I never tried to harm anyone"

"I know" Will sniffled.

"I don't care if I'm wrongly accused" she continued "as long as you know I am innocent, and that I love you and have always cared for you, I will accept this sentence"

"You shouldn't have to"

"I knew this was coming, there's no way to stop it, all I ask you is to be there for me" She said "Will you do it?"

"I'd fight off an entire army for you" Will replied.

"I know" She kissed his hand; her voice could no longer mask her pain and distress. "Oh Will, I am so happy for you, and I cry for you in your time of suffering. I am nothing but a wise woman. Please forgive my silence, I only sought to protect you."

"You have nothing that must be forgiven" Will whispered through the bars "I never thought bad of you."

"Then I shall find peace in the other world" she kissed his forehead, and slowly she slipped out of his grasp, backing away to a corner of her cell.

"Good-bye, William, my dearest son"

"We will meet again, mother"

During the hanging, Will kept his eyes on her while her own looked all around, lastly setting on Will's.

"I do not die today" she said "Hope dies today, and so does a bit of love." She smiled warmly at Will, like the first time they met, and a tear rolled down her cheek, before the trapdoor flew open under her feet, and the noose tightened around her neck, breaking it and taking her life.

Little was known about Amara Serlin but through gossip and rumors her life became a tale of the obscure, until it destroyed the person that had once cared for the boy who had survived a shipwreck and fallen in love with the Governor's daughter. Now, Will understood why she had occupied his mind; her death anniversary would be at dawn, and he finally knew why she had asked for his forgiveness; she knew of his background and bleak destiny and told him nothing.

Nonetheless, he would think kindly of her, for all she had done.

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** A/N: Again, please comment! Feel free to favorite if you really like it, feel free to contact me too if you'd like, thanks!**


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